I did a search on Autotrader.com and found appx 100 Nissan 350Z For Sale (within 25 miles), any idea why?

 

I agree, lease returns, the novelty wore off...many factors.

 

Can you unload your FX on me for $10,000?

M.

 

switching to different Z perhaps

2007 Z4

 

I think you guys hit the nails on the head....leases are up, appeal has worn off. Still a very nice car that can be picked up for a good price though.

 

Its tough for coupes to stay hot, the 350Z has done well, its stil selling over 25 units a year. As ya'll have stated, between leases and the novelty wearing off, as well as maybe the quality issues getting to people (alignment, rattles, tranny etc) people are selling the car. And on the show circuit, the 350Z is pretty *****d out. The car has just been very hot with consumers and the aftermarket.

It makes a GREAT used buy. And for under 30k, its still very tough to beat. Just look at Mitsubishi for the price of a touring 350Z, you get FWD and 263 hp from a bigger 3.8 unit engine.

These cars will be snapped up used.

 

I've noticed this trend as well. We have a lot of used dealers in the area selling 350's that otherwise carry stuff like civics and tauruses.

 

There are basically four things about this car that have turned people off. First, the cheap-looking and cheap-feeling interior....a problem shared by other recent Nissan products as well. Second, the large and thick cargo-bed cross-strut in back that, while giving the car chassis rigidity, severly impacts what you can load and carry back there. Third, the factory defects in suspension and alignment that wear out tires unevenly and prematurely and cause unacceptable road noise.Fourth, the better quality found on some of the Z's most direct competitors like the Honda S2000 and Mazda RX-8, although the RX-8 has some problems of its own with generally high gas and unacceptably high oil consumption.

 

I've had my 350Z Touring for about 2 years now. It's one of the best looking sports cars on the road (my opinion) and it is fun to drive. It does wearout front tires, fronts last between 10-15K miles and the rears should last 25-30K miles (not the best but not the worst) had a 1991 NSX that needed new rear tires every 8K miles. Other then tire wear mines been great and real low maintance cost to own. I have 16K miles and only OCI every 3K miles. I think the Honda 2000S is a great little sports car but if your very big they look like your driving a 3/4 size vehicle, kind of like the little mercedes convertable was when it first came out. I had a Mazda RX7TT and I can tell you Mazda's quality and dependablity is not as good as Nissan (my experience). These 350Z's are great used car bargains, you can find 2003 Touring models with 15-20K miles on them and warranty out to 5 years and 60K miles (power train) for $24-27K in excellant condition. Yes you will have to buy some tires and keep it aligned but if you have ever owned a Porsche, the Z is a bargain

 

Yes, PitBull...... the Z is a bargain compared to a Porsche, and I'm glad you have had reasonably good luck with yours, but a lot of owners have been turned off by the things I listed above.

You mentioned RX-7 TT problems. I don't know exactly what kind of problem you had, but one bad thing about that car, in addition to the rotary's notorious gas and oil consumption, was that in order to get the weight down to the bare minimum needed for such good sports-car-performance, Mazda engineers, in addition to the already lightweight rotary engine. used a lot of lightweight aluminum parts for the chassis, suspension, and steering, SO lightweight that in some cases strength was compromised. If you drove over bumpy roads or potholes, some of these parts had a tendency to bend or break. Of course, in the 10 years or so since that car was pulled from the American market, advances in metal alloys and chassis design have solved some of those lightweight parts problems..........perhaps the best example is the current Lotus Elise.

 

Problems that are commonly discussed on the 350Z site. front tire feathering and some have had transmission gear grinding on the 6 speeds. Nissan has been giving owners new front tires and alignments and new transmissions. Some seem to have had several transmissions replaced on the same vehicle. Could be owner abuse, since it seems odd that one person would get 3 bad transmissions in the same car within 25K miles. I get a kick out of the fact that Nissan has replaced transmissions in cars that have been modified, even super charged. Not many manufactures would do this. I will continue to watch this transmission problem and if I have a problem before my 5 year 60K mile warranty is up I will get the new transmission installed and sell the car. But I figure we will be selling it before the warranty is up anyway, since we drive it less than 10K miles a year and I get the bug for new stuff way quicker then every 5 years. Plus I'm now 56 so I only have a few good years of car trading ahead of me and I have to get them in before gas is so high that we all will be driving econo crap.

 

Hmmmmmm? Leases expiring and ohh... maybe the car is nearly 3 years old.

Still one of the BEST looking cars on the planet and still one of the BEST performance bargains on the planet.
Having one of the very first production models (VIN in the low 1k) and it will be 3 yrs exactly 2 mos from now, I too am ready for a change. Nothing mystifying there.
Looking to initially replace it with M45 SPORT Liquid Platinum slap the old Custom Chrome 19" MODS R6's on that baby and preparing for the arrival of TX jr 1st week of January.
And then if the year continues to go well for me $ and/or even better... @ a year from now, a Silver 06' Z06 can join the M in my garage.

 

TX, since you've had your for almost 3 years how many miles and have you had any problems? Mine is a late 2003, made a week before they started calling them 2004's

Same color as yours "Chrome"

 

I have 43k miles, and the biggest problem I had (and this was common with first run production trannys (manual) which was widely puplicized. If you have/had this problem, it was easy to know: 3rd gear grinding and possibly 5th. I actually suffered it twice: 1st - 5k miles and 2nd @ 14k. BUT... The minute it happened and I informed the dealer, they replaced the entire tranny both times no questions asked. This was definitely their "weak link" in the begining.
The 'tire-feathering (also widely publicized) has never really been an issue for me do to:
Lowered my car immediately and slapped on some wider and lower 19's. The wear up front has not been anything worse than previous cars I've modded, so IMO, what I did helped that issue. Other than that VERY minor things that don't take away from my overall fondness of the car. Don't get me wrong, there are a host of varying issues reported by owners, but other than what I've stated, I have absolutely loved what this car has provided in it's nearly 3 yrs of ownership. It is still quite hot and I get maad props constatntly and up front valet service always. Now surely alot of that is my personal touches I've given the car, but I already had a nice 'canvas' to start with. I trust I will fetch a much higher re-sell (private) than average due to my cars impeccable condition and modification that has an appeal to both young and old.

 

It'll be a different story if Nissan stop production of the 350 now. People will either snap it up or keep it longer as it'll be considered a classic. But whenever an affordable sportscar is constantly getting better or more variety is offered(convertable), there's really no reason to stick with a 3 year old one. I think to many people, the 350Z is just the stepping stone to a faster vehicle like a Z06 or the next GT-R or to a more luxurious and softer riding vehicle.